Nestor Cortes. because of a hamstring strain, is a little behind the other pitchers and as a result, today was only his second start of spring training.
But Nasty Nestor was in midseason form, tossing four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in what turned out to be a 1-1 tie game with the Cardinals.
The Yanks are 10-15-2 in spring training.
Both teams only got three hits apiece, and the Yankees run was on a HR by Oswaldo Cabrera.
Notes:
Volpe 0 for 4 #1 prospect. Stanton 1 for 3 Cabrera 1 for 3, the HR Peraza 0 for 3, #3 prospect. So neither Volpe or Peraza was outdoing the other today in the SS competition battle. Trevino 1 for 3.
The Yanks (9-10-1 in spring training) gave up 7 runs before they came to bat, came back to take an 8-7 lead, but then fell to the Phillies 9-8 Wednesday afternoon.
Luis Severino started and had a bad first inning before settling in. He says he feels fine but so far this spring the results aren’t there. It is only spring training but from here on in, you want to see better results so that when the regular season starts, he hits the ground running.
Meanwhile, it was announced that Gerrit Cole—to no surprise—will be the Yanks’ Opening Day starting pitcher.
Jose Trevino is dealing with a strained right wrist but should be ok.
Michael Hermosillo was sent down to minor league camp.
From what I’ve seen, Anthony Volpe should be the Yanks’ starting shortstop. The kid continues to impress.
Highlights:
Volpe 1 for 2, RBI, 2 walks, SB. Judge 1 for 2, walk and double. Cabrera 1 for 2, RBI double. Rafael Ortega 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts, misplayed a ball in CF. IKF 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts. Hicks 0 for 2, walk, 2 strikeouts Florial 0 for 2 Mickey Gasper 2 for 2, RBI
Severino 2 1/3 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 3 W, 4 K. 1 balk C. Gomez 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 3 W, 1 K. 1 WP Cowart 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Marinaccio 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP Nick Ramirez 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Luis Santos 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. Jack Neely (L) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. gave up 1 HR.
Forget the score today. It’s only spring training. I’ll get to today’s game in a moment. The bigger news is that three more pitchers join Frankie Montas on the injured list to start the season. They are Tommy Kahnle (strained biceps), Lou Trivino, and Carlos Rodon.
Rodon has a mild strain in the forearm, which set off Tommy John surgery concerns, but it doesn’t affect the UCL. He won’t throw again for 7-10 days.
So, with Montas down, and also Rodon for a short time, it appears as if the rotation on Opening Day will be Cole, Severino, Cortes (himself just getting over a hamstring issue), German and Schmidt.
Clarke Schmidt pitched today, and so far, his spring training has been meh. (8.10 ERA) He gave up 2 runs (2-run HR) in 3 IP today as the Yanks (7-6 in spring training) lost 11-7 to Boston. Tyler Danish has had an atrocious spring training (ERA 94.50!), and that continued today.
Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez continued to have a hot bat, hitting a 3-run HR. The 20-year-old is targeted for AA, but we can dream about him making the big leagues soon. Also homering was Andres Chaparro, who also is having a hot spring. Chaparro has shown a good bat, but when he goes back to the minors, he needs to work on his defense. The minor league numbers for the 3B/1B defensively don’t look good. Improve that, continue to hit, and maybe he can be a future option. After all, Josh Donaldson is 37 and the Yanks probably will not pick up Donaldson’s option after this season.
Volpe 0 for 3. #1 prospect. Judge 1 for 1 with a walk. Dominguez 1 for 2 with a walk and a 3-run HR. #2 prospect Chaparro 2 for 2, solo HR. He and Dominguez went back-to-back. Peraza 1 for 3 #3 prospect. Trevino 1 for 2, 2 RBI
Schmidt 3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up HR. Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. With Trivino and Kahnle out, has shot at opening day roster. Marinaccio (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. Danish (BS, L) 1/3 IP, 6 R, 6 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 3 HR. As mentioned, a brutal spring training. ERA 94.50. Jennings 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. Evans 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. Vasquez 2 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. #14 prospect.
Aaron Judge hit a 3-run HR and Domingo German looked sharp at the Yankees (7-4 in spring training) beat the Pirates 9-2 Monday night.
Highlights
LeMahieu 2 for 3, 2 RBI Judge 1 for 2, 3-run HR Florial 1 for 2, walk, 2 SB Rizzo 1 for 3 Donaldson 1 for 3 Volpe 1 for 2, 2 walks, SB but also was picked off. Nice defensive play. #1 prospect. Hicks 2 for 3 but an error in the field. Calhoun 2 for 3. Interesting. Non-roster player hitting .571 this spring in trying to win LF job. Intriguing. Pereira 1 for 2 #6 prospect Trevino 1 for 2 RBI Dominguez 1 for 2 #2 prospect. Ortega 0 for 1, 2 walks. Also after LF job. (Along with Hicks (the favorite), Calhoun, Cabrera, Florial)
German (Winner) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 4 K. Probably the favorite for the #5 rotation spot. Cordero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Trying to win bullpen spot. Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Yoendrys Gomez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. #11 prospect. Norwood 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K Bowman1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
It wasn’t a good day for the Yankees (3-2 in spring training) and especially not for pitcher Tyler Danish as the Yanks were hammered today by Tampa Bay, 12-0.
The Yanks only had five hits, all singles. They struck out 11x.
UPDATED PROSPECT RANKINGS
Boxscore notables:
Gleyber Torres 0 for 3 with a strikeout and an error Oswald Peraza 1 for 3 as he tries to grab the SS job. #3 prospect. Jose Trevino 1 for 3 with a strikeout. Everson Pereira 1 for 3 with a strikeout. #6 prospect. Spencer Jones 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. #5 prospect having rough spring so far.
Sean Boyle (L) 3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. #29 prospect Matt Krook 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1 HBP competing for a bullpen spot. Nick Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. also competing for a bullpen spot Tyler Danish 0 IP, 6 R, 4 H, 2 W, 0 K. Faced six batters, didn’t record an out, all six scored. Kaleb Cowart 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. Sean Hermann 2/3 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 W, 0 K. Alex Mauricio 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
An interesting development. Dodger SS Gavin Lux was injured, tearing an ACL and will miss the whole season. So IKF could be on the trading block, being that the Dodgers need a SS and the Yanks may want to go with Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe at SS.
The Yankees split their squad today. Lots to report on.
They won the home game against the Braves, 7-0, as Jose Trevino hit a grand slam and the pitchers combined on a one-hitter.
Clarke Schmidt was dominating. Six up/six down and five strikeouts.
Gleyber Torres 2 for 2. 2 singles. Aaron Judge 1 for 1 (single) and a walk. Aaron Hicks 1 for 3 Jose Trevino 1 for 2. Grand Slam. 4 RBI Oswald Peraza 1 for 2 (single) with a walk and strikeout as he tries to capture the SS job. #3 prospect. Trey Sweeney (#6 prospect) 1 for 1 (double) Tyler Hardman 1 for 2 Spencer Jones (#7 prospect) 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts T.J. Rumfield 1 for 2, 2 RBI (double) Mickey Gaspar 1 for 1, RBI (Double) and walk.
Schmidt (Winner) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 5 K. Trying to win #5 starter position. Albert Abreu 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Trying to win bullpen position; out of options. Deivi Garcia 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. Nice to see after his last 2 horrible seasons in minors. #24 prospect. Will Warren 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. #8 prospect. Clayton Beeter 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 3 K. #9 prospect.
Away Game: Yanks beat Toronto, 9-5. #1 prospect Anthony Volpe went 2 for 4 and stole two bases.
Volpe 2 for 4 with 2 SB. Single and double. Willie Calhoun 2 hits (single, double) RBI. Battling for LF job Andres Chaparro 2 hits, 2 RBI, single and solo HR. Elijah Dunham 2 for 3 #19 prospect. Brandon Lockridge 1 for 2, triple, 2 RBI #26 prospect. Carlos Narvaez 1 for 2, solo HR. Jesus Bastidas 1 for 2, 2 RBI. Solo HR (he and Narvaez went back-to-back).
Jhony Brito (Winner) 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. #22 prospect. Matt Spence 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. Matt Bowman 2/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR. Disappointing outing for him. Michael Gomez (H) 1/3 IP. 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Demarcus Evans (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. Drew Thorpe (H) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. #13 prospect. Lisandro Santos 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Besides his Gold Glove for best defensive catcher in the league, Jose Trevino has won the Platinum Glove as best defender in the AL period.
One thing I read that worries me a bit. Justin Verlander apparently was quoted as saying that the Yankees are dinosaurs when it comes to free agency. That they are behind the curve. I guess he means that there are new methods to it and that the Yanks are stuck in the 1977 or 2009 times? I don’t know. But a disturbing read nonetheless.
Jose Trevino and D.J. LeMahieu were named winners of the Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence yesterday. For catcher Trevino, it is his first. For LeMahieu, his fourth, but first in a newly created category for utility men.
Nominated for the award but losing out were Yankee P Jameson Taillon, 1B Anthony Rizzo and LF Andrew Benintendi. Why OF Aaron Judge, an excellent defender as well as slugger, wasn’t nominated, escapes me.
Trevino was also up for, but lost out on, the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. That was won by Justin Turner of the Dodgers.
A couple of guys with Yankees’ ties were interviewed for, but didn’t get, managerial positions. One was current Yankees’ bench coach Carlos Mendoza, another was former Yankees coach Joe Espada, and another was former Yankees 2B Miguel Cairo. Cairo took over as interim manager for the White Sox when 76-year-old Tony LaRussa’s health failed him and forced him to retire again. Instead, the White Sox went with Pedro Grifol and the Royals have chosen Matt Quataro. These follow Texas’ choice to bring Bruce Bochy out of retirement.
The Astros got hammered by the Phillies in Game 3 of the WS last night 7-0. The Phils hit five HR, and before one of them, Bryce Harper, who had homered, was giving advice to Alec Bohm, who then homered. Could Harper have seen something that Astro starter Lance McCullers, Jr. was tipping pitches? McCullers denies doing so of course, but you have to wonder.
The Phils took a two-games-to one lead in the Series, and the decisions of both managers regarding their rotations now are a factor. With the rainout, Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson (a former Yankees coach) switched off of Game 3 scheduled starter Noah Syndergaard to Ranger Suarez, keeping Aaron Nola on his regular rest for Game 4. Suarez rewarded the Phils with shutout pitching. Meanwhile, Astros’ manager Dusty Baker kept his rotation the same, starting McCullers, who got rocked, and instead of bringing back Justin Verlander for Game 4, appears to be sticking with Cristian Javier. Javier better come through, because if the Phils win Game 4 to go up three games to one, Philadelphia will REALLY be rocking for Game 5. Of course, Verlander has been surprisingly bad in WS play, going 0-6, 6.07. But you think sooner or later he’d pitch a good one, right? But the choice of whether to switch after the rainout (Thomson did) or not (Baker) could play a huge part as far as the Series is concerned.
Game 3 of the WS was postponed last night and will be played tonight, weather permitting. The series is tied at a game apiece.
So, a few thoughts in the meantime.
First off, I won’t post anything regarding free agency until it happens or there is a great certainty that it will happen. Reading all this conjecture about Aaron Judge going to SF, the Dodgers, staying with the Yankees, is all bullshit. When you read predictions about who is going where and for how much each year, what percentage of those predictions is actually accurate? Answer: Not many. So, until something happens, I will do my best not to spread unfounded rumors.
Justin Turner of the Dodgers won the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. The Yankees’ nominee was Jose Trevino.
A couple of managerial decisions have been made, with the biggest surprise probably being Bruce Bochy (3 WS rings, future HOF) coming out of retirement to manage Texas.
The Yanks will be keeping Aaron Boone as manager, and most likely Brain Cashman as GM as well. I think the retention of Cashman (and by retaining him, he’d retain Boone) is tied into the Judge situation. You don’t want a novice GM trying to work out the details of trying to re-sign Judge, whose contract could be not only very expensive, but also very involved and intricate.
The Yankees played 11 games vs. Houston this year. They won two, both in walk off fashion, and none in Houston. It was apparent Houston had the Yanks’ number. They Yanks hardly led at all in all 11 games.
That carried over to the ALCS, in which the Astros swept the Yanks out of, winning Game 4 6-5. I didn’t think the Yanks would beat Houston, although I was hoping. You have to separate your head from your heart. You think with your brain, not with your heart. But I didn’t think they would get swept. Ouch.
And what REALLY hurts? Of that 2-9 record (including the ALCS) this year, 4 of the losses were by 1 run, and another 3 by 2 runs. As if losing itself didn’t hurt, that was just twisting the knife.
It marked the fifth straight time the Yanks lost in the ALCS since last going to (and winning) the WS in 2009 (2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022). The last three ALCS losses were all to the Astros.
There needs to be change, from the top down, within the Yankees’ organization. Otherwise, it’ll be the same old same old next year too. They have to break this pattern in order to advance further.
Many are calling for Derek Jeter to be the new GM and Don Mattingly to be his manager. Although I love both Yankees legends, and that would be the popular move, let’s step back and take a look at that. First off, with Jeter as CEO and Mattingly manager of the Marlins, the Marlins didn’t exactly do well, did they? Granted they didn’t have the talent or financial resources the Yankees do, but you didn’t even see year to year gradual improvement, did you? Here are the win totals, not counting 2020 (the 60 game Covid season) under Mattingly. 79-77-63-57-67-69. I would be more interested if they were on a gradual uphill climb, like 60-65-73-77-85 something like that. You didn’t see that. When Donnie managed the talented and much more financially stable Dodgers, he was ok (82-86-92-94-92), but he couldn’t get them in to the WS. His overall winning percentage, Dodgers and Marlins, is under .500. And as for Jeter, do you really think he would take a position (GM) in which he could be fired? Jeter doesn’t want to work for a boss, he wants to BE the boss. CEO or owner. If he was going to come back to the Yankees, it would be as an adviser, not GM. Much like Reggie Jackson was. Oh yeah, guess who Reggie is advising now. Ugh. The Astros.
The Astros are now unbeaten (7-0) in the postseason. They will face the Phillies in the WS. The Phils got lucky and hot. As the #6 seed in the NL, they never would have made the playoffs before this year. But with MLB changing the playoff structure, they snuck in and got hot at the right time. Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, is going to the HOF one day. This is the fourth team he has run that is going to the WS. Their manager, Rob Thomson, hitting coach Kevin Long and reliever David Robertson were all part of the last Yankees team to win a WS back in 2009.
The game started out good for the Yanks. They scored twice in the bottom of the first. Harrison Bader singled, and with one out, Anthony Rizzo was HBP. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres followed with singles and the Yanks were up 2-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Yanks made it 3-0. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IF) led off with a double, and two outs later, Aaron Judge walked. A double by Rizzo plated IKF.
But Nestor Cortes, who pitched two scoreless innings, was pitching through a groin injury that caught up to him in the third inning. Two walks and a 3-run HR to start the inning, and Cortes was removed. Wandy Peralta relieved Cortes, and Houston got another run off him. 4-3.
The Yanks tied it in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Bader singled, and with two out, moved to second on a passed ball. Rizzo singled to tie the game at four.
Bader, who had an incredible postseason, hit his FIFTH HR of the postseason to put the Yanks up 5-4 in the sixth.
But with one out in the seventh, it came undone. Jose Altuve got an infield hit, just beating Yankees’ pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga to first on a bang-bang play. Then came a ball that should have been a DP, but the exchange, Torres to IKF, went awry and everyone was safe. The error was charged to Torres, but I think IKF should have at least caught the ball for a force. Whatever, both at fault. Two consecutive singles, off Loaisiga and then Clay Holmes, followed to tie the game and then to give Houston the lead, which they held on to.
The Yanks hit .182 vs. Cleveland in the ALDS. They hit .162 in the ALCS vs. Houston. .173 for the postseason. Aaron Judge, the face of the Yanks, will get criticized (5 for 36, 2 HR, 15 K) but it wasn’t only him (And Judge, although he won’t admit it, was probably gassed from carrying the team the last two months and from the HR chase to 62).
Some other numbers: Jose Trevino was 1 for 22 in the postseason. 6 K. Kyle Higashioka 0 for 6, 5 K. So, neither catcher did anything. Oswaldo Cabrera 2 for 28, with 12 K. Benintendi missed. Tough postseason for the rookie. Stanton 6 for 36, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 K. Torres 6 for 34, 10 K. Josh Donaldson 5 for 29, 16 K. No LeMahieu. Matt Carpenter 1 for 12, 9 K.
The only bright spots: Bader,10 for 30 with 5 HR. Rizzo 8 for 29, 2 HR. Kiner-Falefa was 5 for 18, but the shaky fielding…
Game 4 recap:
Bader 3 hits, solo HR Rizzo 2 hits, 2 RBI Torres 2 hits, RBI but critical error
Cortes 2+ IP, 3 R, 2 H, 3 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. Peralta 2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. Loaisiga (LOSS) 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. Holmes 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Waiting for changes. Hoping they are MASSIVE Changes, from the top down.
The Sommer Frieze 
